You ever hear the phrase, about as successful as a soup sandwich? Well, that's me, I’m the soup sandwich, but instead of a soggy mess, you have a twenty-five-year-old with a Bachelor’s degree in nothing useful who just quit her job at the local home improvement store where there were definitely no tortured billionaires looking to tie anyone up—and that's not a bad thing. I know, it's looking pretty sad right about now, but at least I don't still live with my parents…So, here I am, embarking on a new journey covering the Funerals and Obituaries section of the local paper, the San Diego Metro News, for the editor—brace yoursel—my uncle, Sal. Unfortunately, while my parents are on vacation, my Granny and her friends are determined to stir up some trouble—but this time, they may have bitten off more than they can chew—especially when some of the residents of the local retirement community are turning up unnaturally dead.There is nothing that will keep me from protecting the people that I love, no matter how crazy they may be—not even the sexy, I mean stubborn, homicide detective, Trent Foyle, can stop me.My name is Shelby Whitmore and I'm kind of the newest reporter for the San Diego Metro News, but hey, I'm a hit with the blue hairs.

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jennifer is a thirty something lover of words, all words: the written, the spoken, the sung (even poorly), the sweet, the funny, and even the four letter variety. She is a native of San Diego, California where she grew up reading the Brownings and Rebecca with her mother and Clifford and the Dog who Glowed in the Dark with her dad, much to her mother’s dismay. Jennifer is a graduate of California State University San Marcos where she studied Criminology and Justice Studies. She is also a member of Alpha Xi Delta. 10 years ago, she was swept off her feet by her very own sailor. Today, they are happily married and the parents of an 8 year old and 7 year old twins. She lives in East Texas where she can often be found on the soccer fields, drawing with her children, or reading. Jennifer is convinced that if she puts her fitbit on one of the dogs, she might finally make her step goals. She loves a great romance, an alpha hero, and lots and lots of laughter.

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

There were so many things wrong with this story. The female lead acted like she didn’t have any brains, self respect or backbone. Then the male...he may have been a cop but he stood there and did nothing while another man physically hurt the woman he was “in love with”. Seriously? From that point on, I checked out on this book.

Honestly, didn't know what to make of this book from the cover and the blurb. It's do much better than I thought. It's the first book in a while that I was sad to have to put down. But I had to sleep. Lol.

I haven’t laughed this hard during a book in awhile. So much I couldn’t read at night in bed because I didn’t want to wake my husband. This is my first read from Jennifer Rebecca. I came across the book when Kruse Images and Photography posted the cover reveal. The title intrigued me and maybe the fact BT Urruela is on the cover. So glad I one clicked!!

Shelby Whitmore, the newest reporter of Funerals and Obituaries for the San Diego Metro News, seems to attract craziness. She has a psycho ex, a hysterical grandma who is never afraid to say what she wants when she wants, and a sexy detective who is bound and determined to make Shelby fall for him, just not into an open grave at the funeral. He will go to any length to get her attention, even go to senior yoga class that Shelby, her grandmother, her grandma’s best friend she learns is Trent’s grandma, and several other seniors who should not be doing yoga after chili Tuesday (the class is cut short when the noxious fumes become too much for the instructor). But when several residents of the retirement home start turning up mysteriously dead or with serious injuries, she knows something is amiss at the retirement community. Shelby, her grandmother, and her grandmother’s best friend make it their mission to find out what is going on. Let the fun begin.

Trent Foyle is a detective for the San Diego Police Department. His crazy grandmother happens to live in the same retirement community as Shelby’s. His attraction to Shelby does not go unnoticed by his grandmother and Shelby’s. With two old ladies who will say anything, they become his allies in trying to get Shelby to go out with him. Little does he know that Shelby is a magnet for crazy and seems to find trouble wherever she goes. As gorgeous as she is, he’s not sure he can date anyone who can be as reckless as she is. He has already lost someone close to him with the same tendencies. But he still is willing to put up with all things crazy to get the girl he wants.

Jennifer Rebecca wrote this book so well. I’m pretty sure I want to hang out with her. She has a quick wit that she brings into the story that you just can’t help but laugh at. The situations she gets her characters into will just have you shaking your head. It was refreshing to read a book that brought humor into the storyline. Not only humor, but a great story also that does have a little mystery to it. I’m going back and reading her previous books. If this book is an indication of her writing style, she definitely has a new fan. Thank you Jennifer Rebecca for this great read. Even after I finished, parts still make me laugh and remember the story.

I open and close my mouth like a fish on the dock while he just smiles at me and our grandmothers debate the pros and cons of a Brazilian wax.

Is it all that the romance novels say it’s cracked up to be?” Marla asks innocently. “I’m just worried that with my hip the way it is now, it would just be a disaster. It was hard enough getting old Harold to give me a second go after I broke my hip, you know, with Harold.”

There is another uniformed officer in the room, and I’m about to complain about having a man touch me so intimately when I realize the giant man with a blond mustache is actually a woman named Sally. She looks as if she brooks no bullshit, so I don’t even argue as she instructs me to strip out of my clothes and then does things that I would usually require her to buy me dinner and a movie first, at the very least.

“Son, I know that look,” my dad says. “You need to either batten down the hatches or run. You might want to choose the latter. She did get the top honor at scout camp for knife-throwing. Six years in a row.”

My Review:

Dead and Buried was a fun and comical read that frequently had me smirking and chortling. A hybrid cozy mystery/romantic comedy, this amusing tale was written from the first person POV from a red-headed, hot mess, accident prone, Calamity Jane type named Shelby. I adored her. I also enjoyed the levity, banter, outrageous situations, deliciously steamy bits, feisty seniors, and a bevy of quirky characters. The plot was active, eventful, steamy, amusing, and highly entertaining. While keeping tabs on her wayward grandmother and starting a new job, Shelby seemed to bounce from one humiliating catastrophe to another. Shelby’s new employment had her attending funerals and writing obituaries, and despite her hopes of making a good impression while attending her first job-related event, Shelby managed to fall into an open grave. Nor did her day improve as she later ran naked into a closed sliding glass door at home after being startled by a staggeringly handsome police officer. A good gander at her naked body slamming into a glass door was apparently the recipe for love as he was smitten.

However, even odder things started happening to Shelby although first, along with her favorite indulgence, she received a warning about a bad man from her past while buying lunch from her favorite taco dealer/street vendor – a man who self-reported having “the sight.” At the same time, odd events and an increase in accidents and deaths were occurring at the swanky retirement village where her grandmother was currently residing. Despite being in their 80’s, the well-dressed, spry, great-grandchild obsessed, and highly spirited grannies were not buying the explanation that old people die, so of course, they turned to Shelby for assistance in launching their own investigation, who better? Hijinks and shenanigans ensued.

Over the course of the book poor Shelby experienced several blows to the head and while I feared for her gray matter, one of the after effects was quite humorous as she was prone to verbalizing her inappropriate thoughts aloud - I wish I had an excuse for that same tendency... I enjoyed this book start to finish and will be eagerly awaiting future tales of Shelby’s adventures.

This started out great. Laugh out loud great. It was rolling along great, until her boyfriend arrested her under the premise of keeping her safe. I really expected it to be a joke until he subjected her to an actual strip search. I really found it to be a little offensive given that she had told him about her bad experience with her ex… Even alluding to that she may have been raped. After this, I really couldn’t stand Trent. I think this was a great story in the beginning and I was very disappointed in the end. The story read a little too closely like a Stephanie Plum novel as well… Crazy grandma, clumsy heroin… Cop boyfriend… And even the new prostitute Besty. Honestly I could’ve rolled with all of that, if it didn’t go out a little too far with the strip search… Not to mention the fact that he was insulting to her and a bully.